1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an ultrasonic diagnosis and treatment system having an ultrasonic probe for making ultrasonic diagnosis and ultrasonic treatment with converged ultrasonic waves in a body cavity.
2. Description of the Related Art Statement
Various ultrasonic diagnosis apparatuses have been proposed which are generally arranged to display, as a visible ultrasonic tomographic image, information collected in a plurality of directions in a living body by repeatedly transmitting ultrasonic pulses from an ultrasonic vibrator to organic tissues of the living body, by receiving ultrasonic pulse echoes reflected by the organic tissue with the same ultrasonic vibrator or a different ultrasonic vibrator separately provided and by gradually shifting the directions in which the ultrasonic pulses are transmitted and received.
In general, such ultrasonic diagnosis apparatuses are of the type using extracorporeal ultrasonic probes. However, intracorporeal ultrasonic probes, such as an ultrasonic probe combined with an endoscope, a small-diameter ultrasonic probe and an in-coelom ultrasonic probe capable of being inserted into body cavities, have also been used widely.
On the other hand, various ultrasonic treatment apparatuses for making various treatments with converged ultrasonic waves, e.g., calculus crushing apparatuses and ultrasonic thermatologic apparatuses, have also been proposed. Among such treatment apparatuses using ultrasonic waves, ultrasonic high-temperature treatment apparatuses are known which treat a lesion in organic tissues such as cancerous cells by instantaneously cauterizing the same at a high temperature by strongly converged ultrasonic waves.
Ultrasonic high-temperature treatment apparatuses of this kind include one which converges ultrasonic waves to a target part from an extracorporeal applicator having a large-opening ultrasonic vibrator to obtain strong converged ultrasonic waves, and one incorporating a comparatively small ultrasonic vibrator and having an in-coelom ultrasonic probe inserted in the rectum to treat the prostate hypertrophied.
An ultrasonic treatment apparatus disclosed in the publication of PCT WO93/16641 is combined with a positioning means for positioning a deep treated part (a focal point to which treating ultrasonic waves are converged), e.g., an ultrasonic diagnosis apparatus for obtaining an ultrasonic tomographic image. If, as in such a case, a diagnosing ultrasonic vibrator for focal point positioning is incorporated in the above-described extracorporeal applicator or in-coelom ultrasonic probe for ultrasonic treatment, positioning of a treated part can easily be performed with an ultrasonic tomographic image, and a treatment with ultrasonic waves can be reliably made while making ultrasonic diagnosis.
The application of the above-described conventional ultrasonic high-temperature treatment apparatus, particularly those having an in-coelom probe inserted in the rectum to treat the prostate is disadvantageously restricted and cannot be used by inserting the probe in lumina other than the rectum, because the probe is large in diameter and hard and because the end of the probe from which diagnosing and treating ultrasonic waves are radiated cannot be freely curved.
Thus, the conventional apparatuses for performing ultrasonic diagnosis and ultrasonic treatment can be applied only to restricted parts depending upon the construction of the ultrasonic probe having the ultrasonic vibrator for radiating diagnosing and treating ultrasonic waves, and they cannot be used to make in-coelom high-temperature treatment by inserting the probe into an upper or lower digestive tube, the thoracic cavity, the abdominal cavity, a cerebral ventricle or the like. The conventional apparatuses are also unsatisfactory in terms of treatment efficiency, because they only utilize ultrasonic wave energy by emitting treating ultrasonic waves.
Further, since the conventional apparatuses are arranged for inserting only a single ultrasonic probe unit into body cavities, they are not capable of detecting and monitoring various kinds of information on the position at which treating ultrasonic waves are converged or internal body portions in the vicinity of a treated part (the body temperature of the treated part, the intensity of ultrasonic waves at the treated part, etc.), so that it is difficult for an operator to make a treatment safely and reliably by grasping treatment situations.